In The Spider's Web
by Lailara
Summary: AU - Futurefic! - Crossover with Smallville -- When Dawn and Spike are kidnapped, their captor is not who he seems to be. **Slash!**Het!**
1. 1. You Are

Title: In the Spider's Web  
Author: AriellaGiselle  
Rating: PG  
Distribution: my usual haunts  
Fandom: BtVS/Smallville  
Pairings: Dawn/Spike, Clark/Lex   
Author's Notes: AU -- Futurefic -- This section is told in a second-person, present tense narrative.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. No Dawn, no Spike, no Lex, no Clark. I'm making no money off of this.  
Thanks to: Kel, who provided the awesome beta on this, and to Taz, who cheered me on, as always!  
*****  
  
It's dark. Way too dark. Your eyes dart around the room, hoping for some shred of lumination from some gracious source and finding none. The bonds on your wrists dig painfully into your sensitive skin and are dangerously close to drawing blood.  
  
"Hey!" you scream, hearing only echoes in the small dungeon.  
  
"Ssh, pet," a soft voice comes from the other side of the room. You look frantically for the owner of the voice, only to be confronted by the same total darkness.  
  
"Spike? Spike, is that you?" you ask, pleading to whatever gods are listening that you are not hearing things and that he really is here with you.  
  
"Yeah, luv, it's me. How are you? I can't see you in here." His tone is pained and tight; what have they done to him, you wonder.  
  
"My wrists hurt and I need to pee," you answer truthfully. Knowing so little about your situation, you realize there's really no sense in lying at this point.  
  
A soft chuckle is your reward for honesty, but it is closely followed by a hissing intake of air; he's in pain.  
  
"Spike? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" you question, hoping that he's okay and not going to leave you any time soon.  
  
"They worked me over pretty good, pet, but nothing a little time won't heal. How about you?"  
  
"They shoved me in here, but other than that, they haven't touched me," you pause, not wanting to ask the next questions, but seeing their prudence, you have to proceed. "Spike, who are they and where are we and how do we get home?"  
  
Another soft laugh and wince and you feel like wincing yourself. "I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know, luv, but we'll find a way. I promise. You'll see Divine again."  
  
Your breath hitches at your daughter's name as a flare of hope springs up in your chest. "Yeah, I hope so." Again with the honesty, you think, why am I so honest all the damn time? You wish you could see, but wishing is hopeless in these situations...  
  
Food would be good, your stomach tells you, and you know Spike needs blood to survive.   
  
In the middle of your ponderings, the door is opened, blinding light flooding the room, causing the both of you to shy away from it.   
  
A rough voice calls out, "Food!" The bonds on your wrists snap and free you. You can hear Spike struggling to get up, and you run to help him.  
  
The dinner is exquisite, to say the very least. Your captor sits at the head of the table, smiling amiably at your wearied form.  
  
"Why have you taken us?" you ask him. His smile brightens and you have to admit that he would be quite handsome...if he hadn't kidnapped you and locked you in a basement dungeon.  
  
"You, my dear, are priceless, and so is the vampire." You cock your head to the side, glancing at Spike, who's face is painted with the same confusion.  
  
"Why have you taken us? So I'm priceless and so is Spike, big deal. Why are we here, damn it?!" you shout.  
  
Your captor's steely-grey eyes flash angrily for a second, softening the second after that, and finally another friendly smile finds its way to his lips. "You, my young lady, are here to help me. Spike is here to be your guardian. Together, you will make me the happiest man on the face of this earth. And that, to me, is priceless."  
  
You snort dismissively, "I don't care about your happiness or lack there of; I just want to go home. I want to take Spike home. He's hurt and needs blood."  
  
"Give him yours. The chip has been short-circuited for several years, and he's been hiding that from you. How do you feel about him now?"  
  
"I still love him. The fact that he's been hiding that has been to protect himself from some overzealous friends of mine. And he's protected himself from that to protect me. I love him."  
  
"Well, loyal, aren't we? That's good. Loyalty is very hard to find in any quantity or quality these days, darling."  
  
"Stop it with the pet names. I have a name, and you obviously know it, so use it," you demand, not a little bit of venom sneaking into your voice.  
  
"Fiery, too. I'll remember that. But for now, my guests, you must eat. Spike, fresh blood is being brought in from the hospital and shall arrive shortly. I must go, however. I regret not being able to stay and dine with you, but I have an appointment I must keep. Enjoy your meals, and enjoy your stay in the castle. Anything you need, just ask the servants; they will take care of everything for you."  
  
"Let us go and we'll call it even, dude." You know he won't agree, but you have to try anyway.  
  
A laugh and the click of the door shutting behind him, and he's gone, leaving you with no more answers than you began with.  
  
*****  
  
tbc... 


	2. 2. I Am

Title: In the Spider's Web  
Author: AriellaGiselle  
Rating: PG  
Distribution: my usual haunts  
Fandom: BtVS/Smallville  
Pairings: Dawn/Spike, Clark/Lex   
Author's Notes: AU -- Futurefic -- This section is told in a first-person, present tense narrative, Dawn's POV.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. No Dawn, no Spike, no Lex, no Clark. I'm making no money off of this.  
Thanks to: Kel, who provided the awesome beta on this, and to Taz, who cheered me on, as always!  
*****  
  
He's watching me again. His steely grey eyes and for all his money, he can't figure me out. He can't understand why I would stand by the only man who has stayed in my life for more than nine years and hasn't run away with some buxom blonde. Spike would never do that to me. My father, my boyfriends, my daughter's father; they all ran, but Spike's always been there.   
  
My sweet Divine. I wonder what she's doing now. She'd better be getting ready for bed, but Xander and Anya probably let her stay up to play with Jakob.  
  
And he's still watching me. Still and quiet as a mouse and he's just playing with me. We sit in this silence; it's not comfortable, by any definition of the word, but it's not overly awkward, either. It's just silence.  
  
Spike should be waking soon. It's nearly dark. Oh, Spike, how are we ever going to get out of here? Are we getting out? This man has so many resources and so many men that run around in terror for their lives, as if they feared his money, his weak hands, his eyes.   
  
His eyes are deep; they are oceans unto themselves. Storm clouds gather at the edges and fade into the waters, and I can't help but feel like I am drowning in them.   
  
"So," he begins, "are you and the vampire...friends?"  
  
I tilt my head to one side and try to decide if this is a game or something more. "Yes, we are."  
  
"For how long?"  
  
I have to think. Spike's just always been there. "Eleven years," I finally answer him. I've known him longer than that, but eleven's as good a number as any.  
  
His eyebrows shoot up as his eyes train on me again. "Eleven, that's quite awhile," he says simply. I have to wonder where he's going with this line of questioning. Maybe he'll let me in on his private little war of words.  
  
"Yes, it is." My response is short, clipped, and he smiles at me.  
  
"Would you like to know the name of the only friend I ever had? He's dead now. I killed him."  
  
Killed your friend, huh? Well, there goes any hope I might've had. "Sure."  
  
"His name was Kal-El. But when I met him, he was plain old Clark Kent. We were close, to be sure, but he had too many secrets. We couldn't keep our relationship going with so many lies hanging in the air between us." His hands fold and rest against his abdomen as he leans back in his chair. "He was a great man. Helped many people in his life."  
  
"So, why did you kill him?" is my bold question.  
  
He laughs softly. "Because he lied to me. Hid who he really was from the world and I was no exception to the rule. He said he loved me, and then he lied to me, like I meant nothing. Betrayal; it's the only true action in this world. Everything leaves, and you are left to pick up the pieces and move on. Well, I moved on."  
  
"He loved you? Did you love him?"  
  
"Completely." Confident, self-assured. He knows the answer like he knows his own face. "But that was so many years ago. I was a foolish young man. My father died soon after Clark, and I ruled the world. And I wasn't even thirty years old yet."  
  
"Impressive," I say sarcastically. "But I have another question."  
  
"Is it on topic?" Damn.  
  
"No, it has to do with Spike and myself."  
  
"Oh, well, then, ask away, Dawn."  
  
"Why have you taken us? Normally, kidnappers tend to abuse their kidnapped, and believe me, I know, but you've gone out of your way to be generous with your home and food. Why?"  
  
"Are you the Key?"  
  
My eyes widen, and I feel like I've been slapped in the face. "How do you know about that?" I growl.  
  
"I know more than just the name. But answer the question."  
  
"Yeah, I'm the Key. What about it?"  
  
"Well, the Key is not just mystical energy as your Rupert Giles once believed. It is kryptonite personified. That's why it appears green, dear girl. If you are the Key, as you have just told me, you could very well be the one woman in the world that could destroy what I've worked so hard for."  
  
"And what is that?"  
  
"Ridding the earth of kryptonite." His words hang in the air like fog on the docks in New York. They are smoky and stifling, frozen and desolate.  
  
"Ridding the earth..."  
  
"Of kryptonite. Or Kryptonian influence to be more exact."  
  
"So, you want to kill me? And what is kryptonite and Kryptonian?"  
  
"No, I don't want to kill you. Not right now, at least. Kryptonite is a fragment of the meteor rocks that came down in Smallville, Kansas 21 years ago, in simplest terms. A Kryptonian is someone from the planet Krypton."  
  
"Krypton? An alien? And they still let you out at night by yourself?"  
  
He laughs again, but this time there's a little lunacy that's crept in and made itself at home. "Yes, Dawnie, they do."  
  
"Don't call me Dawnie."  
  
"My apologies, Dawn. It won't happen again."  
  
"Good."  
  
And the silence is back. There's something strange this time, though. It's more familiar. Has my conversing with this man, our kidnapper, made me feel something besides complete loathing for him? I hope not. Damn, I'll be glad when Spike's awake and back by my side.  
  
"Now, I believe it is time for dinner. I'll have Spike brought to your dining room, seeing as I cannot join you tonight."  
  
Well, that's good. We've only gotten to use "our" dining room a couple of times in the weeks we've been here, and it's by far my favorite room in what I've seen of this man's house.  
  
Spike, I miss my Divine. We have to get home. We just have to understand our captor a little more, and we're home free. Can't we last just a little while longer?  
  
*****  
  
The blood is always fresh, and just the right temperature. Spike stares hungrily at the goblet and looks beseechingly at me. After all these years, he still looks at me that way, as if he's asking for permission. I smile at him, and he gulps down the red liquid.  
  
Turning back to my own plate, I pick carefully at the perfectly prepared steak and I wonder. Why does this man spend so much to make us comfortable?  
  
I voice this question to Spike and only receive a confused look.   
  
"Well, maybe he doesn't see the point in abuse." His response is soft and almost unsure.  
  
"Maybe." More to say, but how do I say it? "Spike?"  
  
"Yeah, pet?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you, too, Nibblet."  
  
"No, not just as your 'Nibblet,' Spike. I *love* you."  
  
His blue eyes flash and they seem to hold some sort of unbalanced hope, yet a fear of rejection, as if he were the one revealling secrets. "Are you ready for that, Dawn?"  
  
"Loving you? I don't know, but I want to know. Divine needs some sort of male figure in her life, and if Giles isn't going to return anytime soon, I can't think of anyone else I want in that role."  
  
"I'm not exactly a role model, pet."  
  
"I know that, but if she sees a good man standing by her mother...I mean, think of it. She'll know what to look for when she grows up."  
  
"So this would all be for her sake, then." It should be a question, but it's not. He's sure of the fact that I only love him as a role model for my daughter.  
  
"No, I love you, completely. Even if Divine didn't exist, I think I would still love you, Spike."  
  
"Good. I love you, too, Dawn."  
  
I stand, grab my plate, and move down to Spike's end of the table. He gets up to pull out my chair for me, and I thank him.   
  
He clasps his hand in mine and squeezes tightly. "I'll always do right," he whispers. It's the only pledge I could ever ask from him, and I lean forward to kiss him.  
  
Divine, we'll be home soon. Mommy's coming home.  
  
*****  
  
tbc... 


	3. 3. He Is

Title: In the Spider's Web  
Author: AriellaGiselle  
Rating: PG  
Distribution: my usual haunts  
Fandom: BtVS/Smallville  
Pairings: Dawn/Spike, Clark/Lex   
Author's Notes: AU -- Futurefic -- This section is told in a third-person, past tense narrative.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. No Dawn, no Spike, no Lex, no Clark. I'm making no money off of this.  
Thanks to: Kel, who provided the awesome beta on this, and to Taz, who cheered me on, as always!  
*****  
  
"Spike. I'd like to speak to you. Would you care to join me in the gardens?"  
  
Spike's head shot up from the book he'd been reading to study the man in the doorway. His face seemed more honest and more open than it had in days. The blonde vampire stood and sauntered out, following their captor to the terrace.  
  
Once outside, the bald man began speaking of his love, a man named Kal-El, and this man's death. An accident, more gruesome than most, had claimed this love, and he believed it was his own fault.   
  
"'Ow are you supposed ta stop a car wreck? These things happen, I suppose," answered Spike.  
  
"I had had the car made especially so that he would buy it. I had the engine laced with Kryptonite to weaken him. Only, it did its job a little too well. He had a heart attack and drove into a building. They said his body was burnt beyond recognition, but I knew it was him." He paused glancing out over the gardens. "And I knew it was my fault."  
  
"Of course it was your fault. You did the worst thing one lover could do to another; you betrayed him."  
  
"No! He betrayed me first! He lied to me!"  
  
"I would have too."  
  
The man's grey eyes flashed, then began to darken as tears threatened to make themselves known.  
  
"I know. I know, and what I did..."  
  
"It's the past," Spike said simply. "Now, I want to know what you plan to do with us, mate."  
  
"I have plans to...experiment a little with Dawn's physiology. Nothing that will harm her, I promise. I know that you two have become lovers in your time spent here, and I would like to say that I am glad for the both of you."  
  
"Ta very much."  
  
"I promise, I will not let Dawn be hurt by my proceedings. If she expresses any pain or discomfort, I will discontinue the experiments."  
  
"If you hurt her, I'll kill you."  
  
"If you kill me, you'll be dust before my last breath."  
  
These were not threats, but mere statements of fact, and both men knew it. They nodded curtly to each other and headed back into the house.  
  
*****  
  
More time passed; days, weeks, months, and Dawn had no way of really telling. She couldn't find a single calendar or clock in the entire mansion. More often than not, her time was divided fairly evenly between her captor, his cryptic conversations, and his endless questions about her origins.  
  
One day, after what seemed like hours of proding and interrogation, he stood, motioning for her to do the same. She followed him down the long staircase that lead into the basements she and Spike had been kept in their first days here.  
  
A tall, glass curio cabinet stood at one end of the impossibly long room. Her captor crossed to it and unlocked the gold and platinum padlock on the doors. He removed a tiny grey box and beckoned for her attention.  
  
"This," he whispered hoarsely, "is what you are, Dawn." The box's lid sprang open, revealing a small green jewel.   
  
Dawn was struck by its beauty, then its pull calling her to touch it. As her fingertips came closer, he pulled the box from her reach. A stern, yet asking glance was all it took for her to gain rights to touch the object. She picked it up and studied it. "It looks like an emerald," she said bemusedly. "Beautiful."  
  
"Yes, it's the only piece of Kryptonite I have allowed to survive. All of the others have been destroyed."  
  
"Why did you destroy them?"  
  
"Because they always seemed to pain Clark. I don't know, actually. If I were a hoping man, I would hope that, by ridding the world of Kryptonite, I might be able to bring him back, but as I am not a hoping man, I don't know why I've gone to such lengths."  
  
"You miss him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"But you killed him?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm sorry, but you are just a font of oxy-moron tonight."  
  
A short laugh and, "I know. My apologies. I don't know why I brought you down here. It just seemed like something I should do."  
  
"I get that."  
  
"I knew you would."  
  
They stared at each other for a long moment before Dawn realized something was happening. A slow fire trail up her arms from her hands; no, from the *stone* in her hands. Her vision began to blur and spin. But she held on to the fragment and tried to steady her sights. When everything returned to normal, she noticed something strange. She only saw in shades of violet; Lavender, royal purple, lilac, every color of violet imaginable. A man stood in front of her. He was the brightest shade of all; a type of neon glowing against deep, plush colors.  
  
"Clark," she whispered before falling to the ground, the stone tumbling out of her hands.  
  
Her captor knelt at her side, his hands cradling her head. "Dawn?" he murmured. "What have I done?"  
  
"I'm okay. Whoa, just a little, uh, weirdness going on." She stood shakily with his help. "Thanks. Hey, wait, wasn't that green?" asked Dawn, her eyes shining a bright violet.  
  
He pointed to her. "Yes, and so were your eyes, but now look."  
  
She bolted out of the room and up the stairs, flying as fast as her feet could take her. Finally, she reached the hall and looked in the mirror. He was right; her eyes were no longer their vibrant green, but an equally vibrant purple.  
  
His hand laid gently on her shoulder and she whirled around to face him. "Wow."  
  
"Yes, interesting. How did you turn this from green to purple?" He held up the stone in front of her face.  
  
"I...I don't know. I held it, and my arms started tingling - no, burning, and the room spun. I saw someone. They and everything else was purple - all shades! - and then I guess I passed out."  
  
"You said his name before you fainted, Dawn."  
  
"Who's name?"  
  
"You said, 'Clark.'" his voice was icy and sent shivers up her spine.  
  
"Clark? I said, 'Clark?'"  
  
"Who said, 'Clark?'" a new voice asked. No lilting British, no fierce Cockney was contained in this voice; it was home-spun, no nonsense.  
  
Dawn turned to face him. The voice belonged to a young man, maybe 25 or 26 years old, with black hair and the lightest blue eyes she'd seen on anyone other than Spike.  
  
Her captor grasped her shoulder even tighter as he tried to keep his balance. "Clark?"  
  
"Yes, Lex?" An adoring smile crossed Clark's lips as Lex attempted to remember how to breathe. The raven haired man crossed the distance quickly, taking Lex's shaking form into his arms. "I'm sorry. But next time you're pissed at me, don't kill me, okay?"  
  
"I'm so sorry, Clark," Lex whimpered, "I'm so sorry."  
  
"Thank you," mouthed Clark over Lex's head.  
  
Dawn nodded and turned away from them. It was time to go home.  
  
*****  
  
Three months had passed by the time Dawn and Spike had managed to free themselves from Lex. Two more months had passed since they arrived on Xander's doorstep.  
  
Dawn sat down on the couch, cradling young Divine in her arms. She cooed and whispered to the sleepy child, who asked sweetly for a song. Her chubby pink cheeks scrunched as she smiled, then yawned, settling in for her lullaby.  
  
After Dawn finished the song for her daughter, she stood, taking the child upstairs to her bed and tucking her in. As she stared down at the small sleeping form, she felt a pair of strong arms circle her waist and a chin rest on her shoulder.  
  
"She's a doll." The words warmed Dawn's heart as she felt nothing where his heart should be.   
  
If the child was not his by any blood, she was the child of his heart, and for that Dawn would be eternally grateful. "She's our doll," she corrected.  
  
"Yeah, ours."  
  
*****  
  
Clark watched the tremors of Lex's muscles as the older man slept. He couldn't help but be angry, yet be incredibly happy at the same time.  
  
Obvious as it was in his actions, Lex told him every day that he loved Clark and was sorry for trying to kill him. Clark had responded with the same phrase every time.  
  
"Death without you would've been boring."  
  
*****  
  
FIN~ 


End file.
